It was great to see Tony Curtis living out his final years. He was the friendly artist--often in a white sweater, shorts and a cowboy hat--active, content and open to the many questions of his fans. I think I will remember him as much for those graceful years as I will for his Hollywood heyday. I found lots of great links paying tribute to this fascinating man:

This is a sweet story about Ann Rutherford befriending a young fan and aspiring film historian— Ohio.com

I love hearing about big audiences lining up to watch classic movies. This particular crowd laughed through a Laurel and Hardy flick— The News

I think Peter Bogdanovich is the only blogger who can start several reviews with a memory about hanging out with the star, director, etc. Here he writes about Stagecoach (1939) and meeting John Wayne— Blogdanovich

Buster Keaton beefcake? I suppose he would have to be in great shape to do all those stunts-- Asleep in New York

The first Native American movie director? This is an amazing article— The Guardian

Having just watched Mothra Vs. Godzilla, I think I will have to continue with this DVD double feature of Gamera Vs. Guiron and Gamera Vs. Jiger—those are some funky looking monsters— The Criterion Cast

A dim-witted matinee idol, a drunken pilot and a gorgeous movie animal trainer with two young wards crash-land in the Amazon jungle. With nothing but determination to survive, the group battles enormous snakes, angry natives and their own weaknesses in their quest to return to civilization. Will they make it out alive? Will the movie star woo the feisty trainer? Will everyone end up happy in the end?

I’m not going to spoil anything for you by saying upfront that the guy does get the girl—it is beside the point. I enjoyed the ride that got me to that happy ending. Jack and the Jungle Lion tells a well-worn story, but the characters really pop. I reveled in the warmth, excitement, and earnest energy of this lively adventure-romance.

There are lots of winks and nods to classic Hollywood throughout the story, and Jared evokes lots of familiar "types" from the era. The book itself has the crackle and snap of a thirties comedy. There’s also plenty of the cliff-hanging action of a Saturday morning serial. However, the plot made me think of more recent action throwbacks such as the Indiana Jones series and Romancing the Stone.

At 115 pages, Jack and the Jungle Lion was a brisk read. I became fond of the characters—and I hope to see them in further adventures.

Stephen Jared is an actor and writer. I recognized him immediately from a series of commercials he’d done for Jack in the Box (remember “Phil in the Box”?). He appears to be equally devoted to each profession—with regular appearances on commercials and television shows and writing projects from screenplays and articles to a children’s adventure story.

Check out some of Stephen’s articles here. This guy loves classic Hollywood.

For more information on the book, check out the official site for Jack and the Jungle Lion.

I’ve wanted to do another favorite quote post for some time, and this clip from the film noir 99 River Street (1953) finally inspired me to get it together.

This marvelously tense scene is equally frightening and sensual. Evelyn Keyes tries to seduce a dangerous-looking man—and she doesn’t seem to be at all concerned by the murderous look in his eyes. She is confident that she has power over him, a sentiment she makes clear with this suggestively cooed closing line:

I don’t believe in sometime. With me, it’s now or never.

Tough noir dames and femme fatales always have the best lines. In this particular flick, Keyes is actually a decent gal just posing as a dangerous lady so that she can help the leading man, but she’s pretty darn convincing.

Here’s a few more that I’m fond of:

Bart, I've been kicked around all my life, and from now on, I'm gonna start kicking back.
-Peggy Cummins in Gun Crazy AKA Deadly is the Female (1950)

You're not strong or weak enough.
-Marie Windsor in Force of Evil (1948)

I recently got a screaming deal on a copy of Please Don’t Shoot My Dog: The Autobiography of Jackie Cooper. Though I had only seen him in The Champ (1931) and a few Little Rascals shorts, I’d always wanted to learn more about Cooper. I knew that he had built a successful, lasting career in Hollywood—both in front of and behind the camera--and I hoped that meant that he had a happier story to tell than the typical child star.

While Cooper did have the inevitable difficulties associated with working young and dealing with the pressures of stardom, not to mention some nasty family troubles, his story is for the most part an even balance between the bitter and the sweet. Having a handful of good mentors and a loving, intelligent mother did much to point him in the right direction.

Since I’d always envisioned a little boy whenever I thought of Cooper, I was surprised to read about some of the big boy things he was up to after his initial rise to fame. Here are the tidbits I found most interesting about his post-childhood life:

1. He had quite a way with the ladies.
For some reason, the former star of Skippy was irresistible to women. I had no idea that this book with the weepy child on the front would be so racy. From a slightly older neighbor across the street who gave him “lessons” as a tween, to a secret, bizarre affair with Joan Crawford when he was seventeen—this guy had no trouble sowing his oats. This is not to say he was a womanizer, he counts his girlfriends and wives as the most significant friendships in his life. Judy Garland was his first love, and he enjoyed a close, but chaste teenage romance with fellow former child actor Bonita Granville.

2. and 3. He was the star of two successful television comedies,The People's Choice and Hennesey—though he didn’t care much for either of them. Cooper didn’t ever seem to hurt for work, but he had high standards for himself, and struggled to find meaningful projects. He was particularly chagrined to play second fiddle to a wisecracking Bassett Hound in The People’s Choice (I don’t think it was that bad. The dog wasn’t even in every scene.):

Hennesey was a Navy comedy--which was appropriate for Cooper because he'd worn the uniform for real during the war. I couldn't find a clip but here’s a slideshow with scenes from the show and pictures of its stars—the jaunty tune is the theme song:

4. He was an accomplished drum player.
Cooper enjoyed the escape of playing music, and he dabbled in drumming for years. During World War II, he played in a USO band and as a civilian, he was deemed worthy enough to jam with several nightclub combos. Here he accompanies singer/dancer Dagmar in a 1953 episode of the explosively popular Buick-Berle Show:

Kate is having guest week at Silents and Talkies. Lots of great posts:
Amanda of Noodle in a Haystack writes about The Big Country (1958)
Monty of All Good Things writes about Ann Sheridan
Matthew of Movietone News writes about Roland Young